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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  October 3, 2012 8:00am-9:00am PDT

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from lori, with gas at over 4 bucks a gallon and laws working to protect our environment, could we start drilling in the u.s. rather than buying outsourced oil. linda, what do they plan to do about the deadly problem of gun violence in this country, how to make it harder for dangerous people to get them. thanks for your comments. facebook.com/carolcnn if you want to continue the conversation. i'm carol costell you. thank y thank you for being with me. "cnn newsroom" continues now with ashleigh banfield. most important, anticipation of the first face-off is a mile high. in ten short hours, the president and his republican challenger are going to share this stage for 90 minutes of give and take on issue number one. and a few other domestic policy flashpoints as well. the economy is due to take up
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three of the six segments that are laid out for tonight, with one segment each devoted to health care, the role of government and leadership/governing style. and by a pretty wide margin going in right now, the voters expect president obama is going to outdebate his opponent, but both men have taken great pains to downplay their own chances, downplay the expectations. our dan lothian is up very early at the university of denver. and, dan, i understand this is the fourth time that these two men have really ever encountered one another in person. is that expected to have any effect when they meet each other on stage? >> well, certainly this is not someone who the president spent time with in the senate, has not spent a lot of time talking to him, and when they debate tonight, for 90 minutes, it will be the most time and the longest time that they have spent interacting at all. so it is an unusual, i guess, setting if you will for the
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president and governor mitt romney. but nonetheless, they're getting ready for this big event, the last couple of days they have been doing these mock debates, going through every possible question that will be asked, every possible scenario that will be thrown their way. so they're pretty ready for that. they'll be doing a walk through later this afternoon to get comfortable with the actual setting, to take a look at all of the various camera angles. and then as you pointed out, the clock winding down to the big event tonight. >> dan, let me ask you about what some are considering a distraction, i always love that word, because it can also mean a challenging moment. and that is the comments that were made yesterday by vice president biden and i'm referring specifically to the middle class, have a listen. >> this is deadly earnest. how they can justify -- how they can justify raising taxes to the middle class, who has been buried the last four years, how in lord's name can they justify
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raising their taxes with these tax cuts. >> dan, look, there is plenty of fodder for this debate without that. but since that is so 11th hour, is that expected to be played up heavily tonight? >> i don't think the obama campaign doesn't think this will be a distraction, but perhaps this will be something that governor mitt romney will jump on at some point during the debate. it is interesting, the vice president made those comments yesterday while campaigning in north carolina. and right after that, the romney campaign jumped all over those remarks. in fact, they put together a conference call to draw attention to that. the obama campaign fighting back saying that's an act of desperation and what the vice president was talking about is that there was this climate over the last four years that were created by decisions that were made in the previous administration. and so, again, they don't see it as a distraction, but i wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come up tonight. >> all right, dan lothian, live
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for us in denver, a long day ahead of him. do appreciate that. thank you, dan. those debates can be so incredibly grueling, but they are a veritable picnic compared to the actual preparation for the debate. the candidates cram for days, if not weeks and they use friends as proxy opponents. john kerry did the job and stood in for mitt romney in the president's camp. and then standing in for the president in romney's debate preps, the silver haired guy in the pink shirt is ohio senator rob portman. and, in fact, portman has really become the go-to guy for republican candidates who need a sparg partner. he's really good at this. but here's the thing, he's never really talked publicly about his role, the preparation and how his debate preps have gone. until now. because i have one of the best colleagues in the business, dana bash, she got the inside story. it is fascinating. one of the things i can't believe you're able to unearth is this anecdote about the 2008 campaign preps between mccain and obama.
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did rob portman -- is this true, did he get cyndi mccain to cry? >> he did. i don't think that was his intention, i know it wasn't, but he did. and the reason is because they were in debate prep, he was playing barack obama, and he was apparently so believable in his role as barack obama and more importantly so tough, hard hitting against his sparring partner, john mccain, that cindy mccain got very upset and ran crying out of the room. i talked to rob portman about that, he told me that story, and listen to what he said about why it is so important, to be so hard on his republican opponents in debate prep. >> part of your responsibility in these debates is to be tougher than your opponent. so that they -- the candidate you're helping is ready for the worst of it. so, you know, you have to be a little mean sometimes and kind of try to get under their skin and sometimes the candidate you're working with doesn't appreciate it and, you know --
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>> now, in this case, ashleigh, the candidate he's working with does seem to appreciate it. mitt romney joked a few times on the campaign trail with rob portman behind him, sometimes on his plane, sometimes on the stump, that he just wants to sometimes kick him out of the room, but he knows how important it is to be as prepared as possible and to not be surprised by anything that president obama will say going into tonight's debate and the way to do that is to have somebody really go after you and that's definitely what rob portman has been doing. >> here is the other thing i couldn't get my head around until you unearthed it, that was this moment that we look at all the time, always makes the highlight reels, the best of debate moments, the moment where al gore got up from his chair, and it appeared almost -- he was menacing president bush, he was getting into his personal space, walking right up to president bush as president bush was in the middle of making his point and look at president bush's
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reaction, it is, whoa, what? i always thought that was so organic, it turns out it was not. >> well, what happened was rob portman said he in preparing to play the role of al gore back in 2000, he watched debate tapes of gore in his primary against bill bradley. he said he noticed he really got up in bill bradley's personal space. he tried that once with then governor george bush, he got up in his space, and he said that bush looked at him and said, portman what are you doing? this is never going to happen. he said, it might. they did practice it a couple of times and when it happened, it played out in real life, he was ready for it and he turned and had the little nod and turned back, wasn't thrown or rattled by it. >> i'm wondering if that smile that president bush gave was portman was right, or was it something -- >> that's what portman thinks. >> great interview. and what a great get because that's been one of those big secrets what is going on with rob portman right now as he does
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the stand-in with debate prep. we'll see how his work pays off tonight. dana bash, thank you. >> thank you. president obama and mitt romney face to face tonight as american voters get to weigh their choices, first presidential debate taking place live. you can watch it right here, starts our coverage at 7:00 eastern on cnn and if you can't get to a tv, we got you covered, cnn.com. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? okay. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds. [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one romney: "it's time to stand up to the cheaters" vo: tough on china? not mitt romney. when a flood of chinese tires threatened a thousand american jobs... it was president obama who stood up to china and protected american workers. mitt romney attacked obama's decision... said standing up to china was "bad for the nation and our workers." how can mitt romney take on the cheaters...
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when he's taking their side?
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ffor help finding a plan that's right for you,
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give unitedhealthcare a call today. governor, if kitty dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer? >> no, i don't, bernard, i think you know i oppose the death penalty during all of my life. >> 1988. massachusetts governor michael dukakis against vice president george bush. criticized for that answer because that was a painful question from our bernard shaw at cnn and some say his wooden and robotic answer just didn't cut it. they needed to see the human side of michael dukakis.
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we know the result of that debate. the president and the would be presidents have to be able to think on their feet when they get the questions that seemingly come out of nowhere. they also on the other hand, like me, need very good writers. and president clinton probably had one of the very best. ma his name is michael walidman, now he heads the brennan center for justice at nyu law school. i'm very pleased co-join the program today from los angeles. michael, thanks for being here. this is a wonderful day to talk to you as we count down to this debate this evening. here is my first question to you, sir, the president of the united states, be it president obama or anybody else, has been sitting in office for nearly four years, the most differential character ever. he's called mr. president by his friends. and then all of a sudden for 90 minutes in front of 50 to 60 million people he can be torn
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apart. do you have to prepare for all of a sudden that change of existence, that change of environment? >> you're exactly right, ashleigh. there are real challenges for any incumbent president. they have people play music when they walk into a room, it is not a normal existence and very rarely will people ever tell a president to his face that he's dead wrong. so, yes, the debate prep process for an incumbent president very often involves taking someone who is clearly usually a very good political performer, making sure they're not rusty and hearing the arguments of the other side. you know, we're all watching both sides and hearing the debates, but the candidates, whether incumbent or not, they're sometimes in their own bubble and during these rehearsals, these debate prep sessions, you often hear the candidates say, wait a minute, what? that's what they're saying? and that can produce some of the more interesting responses. >> well, and the other thing is
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temperament. in a flash, again, in front of 50 to 60 million people, you know, true stripes, even in a flash can be shown. i want to play for you something that happened in the rose garden. just recently. in 2012. it was a reporter for the daily caller who decided that he wanted to question the president at perhaps a time when most reporters wouldn't. he interrupted the president midsentence to give a critical question. look at this and we'll talk on the other side. >> it is the right thing to do. excuse me, sir. it is not time for questions, sir. not while i'm speaking. >> so here's my question, michael. that reaction for many some said they were critical of him that he was rough on the reporter. others said, there would have been presidents who might have dropped an f bomb on someone who interrupted them. how do you gauge that kind of reaction. that's one of the only times other than joe smith yelling, you lie, during the inaugural,
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or the state of the union, that the president has had to deal with somebody who was being somewhat rude. >> well, i was someone who thought the president was entirely appropriate in his response to that rude interruption in the rose garden. but you're exactly right, you know, president barack obama doesn't necessarily hide his irritation all that well when he's confronted by something he thinks is deserving of it. and people look at both the candidates for their -- for who they are and not just if they're hitting their mark and giving the right answers. so, you know, sometimes with whether it is a press conference or a debate, these candidates need to kind of get it off their chest in private with their -- with their staffs and friends and then they can in public maybe have a little more eke anymoeke eqanimity.
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>> that is a stress level that nobody ever experiences. michael waldman, thank you for your insight. nice to see you. >> good to see you. president obama and mitt romney facing off as american voters weigh their choices for president. it is the first of the presidential debates and it takes place tonight, watch it live here, 7:00 eastern, on cnn and on cnn.com. at red lobster. there's so many choices, the guests love it! [ male announcer ] don't miss endless shrimp. try as much as you like, anyway you like. like new teriyaki grilled shrimp for just $14.99! my name is angela trapp, and i sea food differently.
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i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. >> raucous laughter at walter mondale's expense where ronald reagan was the oldest candidate in history, total zinger. nailed it. 45 minutes of tonight's 90 minute debate is slotted to focus on the economy. if you're one of the right brained people, that is half, half of tonight's debate is going to be focusing on that top
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issue. right now, a majority really disapproves the handling, the president's handling of the economy and that's according to the latest nbc news/wall street journal poll. you talk about it all the time with me. we had a record number of months with unemployment over 8%. and i'm starting to wonder if the american people are desensitized to this, they heard the numbers so often, they're starting to think it is normal or if not at all. >> you know it interesting, i think four years ago, ashleigh, we were in an emergency situation losing hundreds of thousands of jobs every month. and now it has become a chronic problem in the labor market. not an emergency like it was, new emergency, but a chronic problem. you got this situation where people say they feel terrible about the economy right now, they don't like the handling of the economy, but farther out, they're starting to say, wait, i think things could be better next year. that's something that is a change. a new change that we have seen -- we have seen overall. >> so let me ask you something
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else. you and i were talking about yesterday, we just briefly touched on it, and that was that as the fiscal cliff is looming, and businesses are worried about making decisions until they know what these senators and these congressman are going to do, nobody wants to invest, nobody wants to hire, as it is looming, we alluded to a new york times story yesterday that there may be some back room dealings of senators, and now today we have concrete reporting. there is not only a back room deal going on, there is a location, there are names, there are some serious meetings to try to stop this from happening. what more do we know about it? >> it is interesting because you're referring to a politico report from this morning that said there will be a secret meeting of eight senators next week to try to hammer out a framework -- >> not just politico, us. we have confirmed it too. this is on the record now. >> well, what we have, and what we know is that there are senators who have been talking and will be meeting next week. but we don't know it is eight. and i think our latest reporting is we're note sure it will be all eight of them. we don't know -- they're so very far part. repuican and democrats are very far apart on how to fix
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this. so we know now they're talking about it, we don't know how far the talks have gotten and how much more, you know, room -- how much room they'll be able to move forward. look, remember, we have 8.1% unemployment rate. friday, we get a jobs report that will show likely not enough jobs created. still creating jobs in the economy, but not enough jobs created overall to dig us, you know, to dig us out of the hole and get us going forward again as a nation. so while we have senators barely starting to talk about talking about the fiscal cliff, we're going to have concrete evidence that, you know, businesses are wary of hiring. >> don't make any plans for friday. i've got you slotted for the entire show on the jobs. thank you. good to see you. even if it is through the tv lens, it is nice to have you. we say hello to this. i'm reminding you again, debate night in america. it is a fantastic opportunity to figure out where your choice will fall. it is issues, folks. the first presidential debate
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nice to meet you. hey, can i call yu joe? thanks. thank you. >> that's just golden tv. ain't it? can i call you joe? i love that. my brother's name is joe, i love it even more. that was a recent debate moment between alaska governor sarah palin, and joe biden back in 2008. in earlier interviews, sarah palin had called joe biden obiden. bringing back the classics brings me back to tonight. the presidential debate is looming. the economy will dominate. but look at what is also up for debate. check out segment four. health care.
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if there is a potential achilles heel where both president obama and mitt romney are vulnerable, it is on this one, folks. two words. obama care, and romney care. and then there is also romney's current health care proposals too up for debate. let's bring in elizabeth cohen to lay out these plans. because this could really unfold in a whole bunch of different ways. the plans are like this. there are so many similarities and differences, exactly how do they differ. >> and voters were so passionate about health because it affects all of us. of all the six segments this is the most interesting one, i'm biased, but still i think people are going to care about this one. let's lay out the basic differences between the two candidates. so when you look at obama, look at obama care, it mandates people buy insurance. it says, hey, everyone, nearly everyone has to buy insurance or we're going to make you pay money. and it also tells insurance companies, hey, you know what, you got to accept everybody, even the people with expensive
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pre-existing conditions, you've got to take them in, which they're not doing right now. romney's plan is, we're not going to mandate that you buy insurance, we're going to leave that up to you, and there are going to be fewer requirements placed on insurance companies, way fewer. romney's basic philosophy is the market will, for the most part, take care of problems in our health care system. >> so how does governor romney attack obama care on the stage tonight when the counterattack, you know, is going to be romney care was the foundation for obama care. >> that's right. that's right. and so what i think romney is very likely that romney will do is he's going to attack this as a tax. i think this because he just started this new ad campaign that lays it out there, he says obama is raising taxes on the middle class. let's listen to a short snippet of it. >> their plan, includes a trillion dollars in higher taxes. even on the middle class. >> even on the middle class, that's the important part. what he's saying is that when
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obama tells you, hey, middle class, you have to buy insurance or pay money to the government, that's a tax and obama is taxing the middle class. >> switch the names. how does obama attack romney if r -- >> he may say, hey, why are you objecting to my plan when it is based on your plan to a larger extent. i think he'll say the candidate care, where is the health plan. romney has not laid out details. he's got ideas but the details are not out there. >> feels like a wash, doesn't it? >> i think it feels like you're going to feel more passionate after the debate because people feel so strongly about this. >> or confused. that's what you'll be here for tomorrow. elizabeth cohen, thank you. good to see you in person. did i remind you, you, yourself, can see how these guys are going to speak of the issues tonight. what do they have to say about health care, the economy. it is the first presidential debate of 2012. it is important. debate night 2012, watch it here
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live, cnn, starting at 7:00 and cnn.com. all right, so overcoming a disability is tough enough. it is a battle on its own. but new add to that bullying. because that's what kids do. and that fight can get downright cruel. but our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is about to introduce to you a 13-year-old who is showing all of those bullies what he's made of and he's using his own disability as his tool. it is awesome. here's today's human factor. ♪ you can go and join my circle ♪ listening to jake rap, you have no idea he suffers from a speech disorder, so debilitating that he used to keep to himself. >> he started speaking at the age of 2, and with single words it wasn't so bad. when he would get into sentences with a couple of words, two or three words, that's when it started to come in. >> those who love jake knew he
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needs to get the words out. let him finish what he's speaking, or saying. >> reporter: but many others tormented him. he was bullied. not only by his classmates, but by his teachers as well. >> once he drew was like -- i was doing this voice in drama class, and i was, like, hi, and then, like, the teacher is -- i don't know what's more annoying, that voice or your stutter. >> reporter: jake's parents, robin and zi, invest a ton of time and money into their son, but nothing worked. then a profound breakthrough at a summer camp. >> i was doing this rap battle. i was, like, hey, i'm kind of
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good. ♪ >> reporter: now jake is performing as lil' jakes, smooth as can be. the rhythm or cadence of rapping makes it easier for him to get the words out, without stuttering. and for all those who used to torment him, the haters, they now serve as motivation for jake to perform for crowds of up to 20,000 people. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.
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who am i? why am i here? >> unforgettable. that moment captured in a 1992 debate between al gore, dan quayle and admiral james stock dale, vice presidential debate. did you know who he was? it was a self-confessing moment. no one knows who i am. ross perot's running mate in the presidential debate, meant to be funny but some thought, yeah, who is he? always a funny moment. lisp, the presidential debate tonight and it is going to put these guys to the test again. it happens in denver. president obama, mitt romney said to go head to head, first of three debates and this one focuses on domestic policy. domestic is hot on the agenda tonight. the economy the top issue for voters. it is expected to dominate the night. most of the segment is dedicated to t health care, the role of government are also on the paul steinhauser watches it lick
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like a hawk. you have the freshest polls coming out as people decide what they think of the two guys going into the contest and who they think is going to win. >> exactly. some of the numbers are right from us, from cnn orc. 9 1/2 hours from now, behind me in that building, that's where the showdown is going to be. who do americans think is going to win. take a look at this. most people think the president, 56% say the president is more likely to win the debates than mitt romney. that number very consistent with other surveys, as we have seen over the last couple of weeks. what about next week? we're the only people who asked about next week's showdown between the vice presidential candidates. look at this. who would have the upper hand, biden or ryan, paul ryan of wisconsin according to our poll. so something a little extra i just gave you there, not just tonight's debate, i'm looking ahead to next week. >> paul ryan will not be saying who am i and why am i here? he is plenty well known out there. >> i guarantee you, yes. >> let's talk about the issues. a lot of times the horse race
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takes over the headlines and the distractions as they're called by critics. but what are the voters saying when we call them and we ask them the pointed questions about the actual issues who is winning on the issues alone? >> on the economy, which is the most important issue in the minds of americans, basically divided on this. look at this. you mentioned there are six segments tonight, three on the economy, that's probably right. what is most important issue for americans, look at that, still remains the economy. 48%. ashleigh, the economy is number one with american voters going back to late 2007. that has not changed. you know what, also tonight, the role of government will be one of those six segments and take a look at this number. it i fascinating. we asked registered voters is the government doing too much. it should be left to businesses and individuals. look at that answer. yes, over 6 in 10 said yes. this could be a number that helps mitt romney. go to the next screen, we asked about whether the government should be promoting traditional values and look at this for the first time in our cnn polling, the answer is below 50% on yes.
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54% say no. only 41% say yes. ashleigh, that number could help president obama. >> all right, so big government, no, but traditional values, not so much. i was fascinated not on the list, immigration, only 2% of respondents thought that was the most important issue facing the country. paul steinhauser, again, for you too, another long day. talk to you tomorrow. thank you. here you go again, folks. if i say it too many times, my apologies, this is important. debate night in america, live tonight on cnn, it is you first chance to really see these guys speak off script and get challenged by each other. 7:00 eastern, here, live on cnn and cnn.com as well.
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with just 34 days to go until the elections and the presidential debate hours away, we're taking a very in depth look all week long at latinos in america, which is a key voting bloc in this election. this is the latest cnn orc poll of latino voters. president obama, the clear favorite over mitt romney, leading 70% to 26%. you can fairly say that's not even close and it is well outside the margin of error and that's critical because you know there is a saying that there is power in numbers. at least 12.2 million people expected to show up at the polls on election day. but that's barely half of latinos who are eligible to vote. and it could come down to location, location, location. the hispanic vote could be the deciding factor in several
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states, including the swing state of nevada. which is where miguel marquez takes us in the battle to win their vote. >> reporter: it might sound like mexico. but this is the fight for the white house. welcome to washo county, nevada, the front line in this battleground state. washo county's 250,000 voters are expected to decide whether the nevada goes blue or red. and latinos, about 30,000 votes here, could make the critical difference in a race that could come down to a few thousand votes. here's how nevada's 1.4 million votes break down and why washo is a battleground within the battleground. most of the votes here are in clark county, las vegas, it leans left and rural nevada is solidly republican. the state almost evenly split. it leaves washo county and that biggest little city in the
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world, reno, feeling like, well, the biggest little city in the world. the democrats here, the ground war is on. bus loads of party faithful, some from other states already knocking on doors, appealing directly to latinos. republicans too seeking favor with latino voters. craig romney. the candidate's spanish speaking son on one of many trips by the candidate, his family and surrogates all descending on nevada. obama, first lady and their surrogates doing the same, a massive effort on both sides for nevada's six electoral votes. >> that's why you saw mied dy m here friday, my mom here yesterday, this is -- this state is very important to us as are many other states across the country, but this election is going to come down to just a handful of votes probably in the entire country. >> hi, ma'am. are you registered to vote? >> reporter: registering latinos, new voters a priority
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in a county and a state where the margin of victory could be razor thin. you've been out herehow long today? >> today, like five hours. >> reporter: five hours. how many people have you gotten to register? >> six people. >> reporter: that's about -- that's not very good, is it? >> i know it is not. i know. >> reporter: the growing latino population decisive here in nevada and across the country, if only it voted. >> the latino voter is in a sense an untapped resource in many instances. the registration level, the turnout level, in the latino community lags badly to other groups. >> reporter: in 2008, nearly 20 million eligible voters nationwide were latinos. but less than 10 million actually showed up to vote. >> it is really important to be after them. it makes sure they go and vote. >> reporter: the white house in the balance, latino voters could help either party win the whole enchilada. miguel marquez, cnn, reno, nevada. >> it all gets going tonight. the first presidential debate of
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people and the bush administration if that unfortunate event would ever occur. >> senator benson? >> senator, i served with jack kennedy, i knew jack kennedy, jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> ouch. the 1988 vice presidential debate between dan quayle and senator lloyd benson. quayle had been touting himself to be on par with jack kennedy, but you saw it, benson's witty one liner, zinger, enough to slingshot him to the finish line. not really, right? you know how it turned out. hours before the first presidential debate, the conservative media are making a
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big deal about a five-year old videotape now of president obama making comments that some say had racial overtones. at a widely covered campaign speech at hampton university in virginia, then u.s. senator u.s. senator obama implied that the bush administration had descriminated against victims of hurricane katrina. cnn reported the event at the time, but the conservative website called "daily caller" is out with the full version of the speech, saying it's an exclusive videotape. we did cover this when it happened. that conservative website is arguing that it is evidence of president obama, then senator obama, whipping up race hatred. for more on this story and how it's -- how did this 5-year-old tape that did get mainstream media coverage end up resurfacing now as some sort of exclusive showing something that we apparently had all never seen before? >> well, ashleigh, it's a
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political year. this tape plays very well to the republican base. it's being billed on the right as obama's other race speech, so at a time when some suggest a republican challenger doesn't seem to be getting much traction, the one thing we know what works is dredging up anti-obama sentiments to get the base fired up. now, yes, this is clearly old news. it was well covered five years ago. the other thing that a democratic and a republican strategist have both pointed out to me is as an opportunity to provide an answer to that secretly recorded video of mitt romney's so-called -- >> okay. so i want to make sure as we report on this, it's very difficult as a media outlet reporting on media, and we know there's a landscape. there's a right wing network, left wing network. sometimes we're accused of being both. by the way, i love that because
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we're obviously equal opportunity offenders. that is the conservative website is suggesting that part of this is that no one covered this. we went back in our archives. i thought is it possible that really happened? it just didn't make headlines? it made a lot of headlines. wolf blitzer on june 6th, 2007, said this, and had this coverage. look. >> democratic candidate barack obama suggests there is a disconnect and a serious disconnect in the african-american community, and he is invoking the memory of the deadly 1992 los angeles riots. >> these quiet riots that take place every day are born from the same place as the fires and destruction and the police decked out in riot gear. it happens when a disconnect settles in. >> so cnn's mary snow continue odd june 6th, 2007, with this
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report. have a look. >> obama told a conference of black ministers that hurricane katrina exposed some of those quiet riots. >> this administration was color-blind in its incompetence, but -- but everyone here knows that the disaster and the poverty happened long before the hurricane hit. >> all right. there's number two. later that day paula zaun on this very network with this coverage. >> because of the republican debate, you might have missed a new controversy involving democratic presidential candidate barack obama. as you heard his warning about quiet riots? >> these quiet riots that take place every day, they happen when a sense of disconnect settles in and hope dissipates. >> is major violence really a threat in our cities, or is this just a scare tactic to win
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votes, particularly from black voters? lou dobbs, when he was working here, also covered that. the event in question was not a closed event. the media there wig big, big cameras. the daily caller is calling this exclusive and suggesting nobody covered this. how are the campaigns reacting to this? >> first, i think the important thing to say is, number one, they're saying that mainstream media effectively didn't cover some of the more controversial parts, if you will. >> that's you and me. >> that's right. so there are parts of this peach that actually didn't get a lot of coverage. still, i think it's also important to say the obama campaign is saying this is an attempt to distract from the negative attention romney got
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from the secret donor speech we were talking about and that the speech was widely reported at the time. the romney campaign says they didn't have anything to do with it, and i think absent proof of the kwaer, you take them at their word. as you said, cnn did cover the speech extensively especially the quiet riot remarks. cnn did not cover shout-outs, for example, to reverend jeremiah wright, some other small nuggets that the daily caller thought were exclusive. >> tell you what, i want you to highlight the jeremiah wright issue as well because there were some serious comments made about the reverend jeremiah wright, and when you say shout-out, it was a heck of a shout-out. i mean, my friend, my colleague, my mentor, my -- all sorts of lawedible comments about jeremiah wright, and then the next year, no more jeremiah wright. >> right. yeah, well, also, remember that when he was making that shout-out to jeremiah wright, it wasn't until sometime much later
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that jeremiah wright really became an issuend sort of blew up and was heavily covered in the media. now, to be honest with you, some democratic strategists will conclude and have said, this isn't that flattering to then senator obama, having his words like this dissected, not flattering at all, but as a political matter, the sense among democrats i've talked to is they believe this is not likely to have that big an impact on the obama campaign, and one strategist said if this is the october surprise republicans probably should have used it in the last election. >> and to that couple seconds left, october surprise. is this something that there's a feeling that the campaign was working with these conservative media outlets, or is this something that the conservative media outlets felt they could just give to work before the big debate? >> obviously there are suspicion on both sides because it's a political year, but, i mean, honestly i wouldn't infute anything like that to the
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campaign unless there was some proof of it, and i don't have anything like that. >> joe johns, i knew you would be on it. i appreciate it. and props to our archive department for pulling all those clips as fast as they could when all of that news broke this morning. joe, thank you. appreciate that. reminder, presidential debate takes place tonight with our coverage here on cnn. pop the popcorn, get yourself all set, and there will be plenty of spin afterwards. you know it. thank you, everyone, for watching. do appreciate seeing you. newsroom international begins with sanne malveaux after the break. a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. listerine® whitening... greetings from the people here sure are friendly but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance...
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